Wall Street points to lower open; Dow futures down 60 points

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U.S. stock markets pointed to modest losses at the open on Monday, as a renewed drop in oil prices hit market sentiment.

The blue-chip Dow futures inched down 61points, or 0.38%, by 11:45GMT, or 6:45AM ET, the S&P 500 futures slumped 6 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 15 points, or 0.34%.

Market analysts warned that trading volumes could be lighter than usual after an extreme blizzard brought the East Coast to a standstill over the weekend, complicating transportation for New York traders.

Oil prices resumed their decline on Monday, falling as much as 4% as last week’s massive short-covering rally came to an end.

Market analysts viewed last week’s 14% two-day surge on Thursday and Friday as a classic dead-cat bounce from oversold conditions. More losses were seen ahead as investors turn their focus back to concerns over a global supply glut and slowing global demand.

Oil producers such as BP (N:BP), Royal Dutch Shell (N:RDSa) and Exxon Mobil (N:XOM) all traded lower in pre-market trade.
Twitter (N:TWTR) shares tumbled 6% ahead of the open after the company confirmed that four top executives are leaving the company as part of Chief Executive Jack Dorsey’s revamp of his top ranks.

In earnings news, McDonald's (N:MCD), Kimberly-Clark (N:KMB) and Halliburton (N:HAL) are due to report quarterly earnings ahead of Monday’s opening bell.

There were no major economic data releases on tap on Monday. The main focus of this week will be the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, which concludes on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Asian equity markets rose overnight, amid hopes for fresh central bank stimulus in Japan and as earlier gains in the price of oil boosted the region’s energy sector.

Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly lower in choppy trade on Monday, as oil prices reversed earlier gains.

European shares rallied late last week after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi indicated Thursday that the bank could roll out fresh stimulus measures as soon as its next meeting in March.

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